Tech

Study: 21 percent of Americans use cell phones to video chat

Josh Peterson Tech Editor
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A decent number of Americans are using their cell phones to make video calls, according to the results of a new study.

21 percent of U.S. adults have participated in a video chat using their cell phone, according to a study released Thursday by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

Since video telephony services like Skype, Apple FaceTime and Google Hangout emerged to enable users to visually communicate with their loved ones over long distances, it was only a matter of time that these services would come into popular use on smartphones.

60 percent of adults in the U.S. who own a cell phone also reported using the device to access the Internet, and 49 percent said that they used it to get directions, recommendations or other location-based information.

“These findings highlight how growing numbers of Americans use their cell phones as an all-purpose information and communication device,” said Maeve Duggan, a Research Assistant with the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project and author of the report.

“For many people, cell phones have become an extension of themselves, fully incorporated into the rhythm of their lives,” said Duggan.

The findings were based on telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from April 17 – May 19, 2013.

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